New York, Feb 11, 2026, 11:28 (ET) — Regular session
- Wells Fargo shares dropped roughly 1.7% in late-morning trading, continuing a decline that’s now stretched over two days
- At a UBS conference on Tuesday, CFO Mike Santomassimo highlighted loan growth driven by cards and autos
- Friday’s U.S. inflation report is now the key driver for shifting rate expectations among traders
Shares of Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) slipped 1.7% to $90.34 during late-morning trading on Wednesday, with roughly 3.7 million shares changing hands.
The drop comes after Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo spoke at a UBS conference, saying the bank expects loan growth this year, driven mainly by credit cards and auto lending. “On the card side, we’re seeing good growth there,” he noted, adding that Wells Fargo plans to roll out more card products targeting wealth-management clients. “Credit performance is still very good,” Santomassimo added. 1
Wednesday saw increased market volatility following a surprisingly robust January jobs report, prompting traders to scale back bets on imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts. Jordan Rizzuto, chief investment officer at GammaRoad Capital Partners, noted that equities were holding up well, given the employment outlook appeared “stronger than what’s expected.” 2
Financial stocks slipped across the board, even as the broader market stayed mostly flat. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF dropped around 1.3%. Citigroup slid roughly 2.2%, Bank of America declined about 1.2%, and JPMorgan Chase edged down close to 0.8%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500’s SPY ETF barely moved.
For Wells Fargo, rising rates are a double-edged sword. While they boost earnings on loans, they also drive up borrowing costs and can dampen activity in rate-sensitive sectors like mortgages.
Investors are digging into what “growth” really means on the ground. Credit cards and auto loans generate solid revenue, but these segments often reveal signs of stress first when the economy slows down.
The downside is clear: if delinquencies or charge-offs increase, any earnings boost from faster loan growth could disappear fast. Plus, a prolonged period of higher rates might continue to suppress mortgage demand, despite management’s claims that the decline is easing.
Wells Fargo is working to bounce back following years under heavy regulatory limits. In June 2025, the Federal Reserve scrapped the $1.95 trillion asset cap set in 2018, freeing the bank from a balance-sheet ceiling that had restricted its expansion. 3
Friday brings the U.S. consumer price index report for January, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET. This release might shift expectations on the Fed’s next step and send waves through bank stocks. 4
